Keynote Speaker – John Johnson

John Johnson is a native Washingtonian, a graduate from the University of the District of Columbia and holds a BA in Theatre Arts. He is a three-time Artist Fellow with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Last year he completed an oral history project called, “Anacostia Unmapped“, that highlighted the lives of Washington DC residents east of the river. Anacostia Unmapped has been featured on American University’s radio station WAMU 88.5 and uses a ‘neighbor interviewing neighbor’ approach to capturing oral history narratives. John is currently exploring a unique improvisational form of storytelling called Playback Theatre with middle school youth through a city-wide initiative with District of Columbia’s Public Schools called Empowering Males of Colors.